Coffee Party USA is for connecting all communities, and that means including those communities that are marginalized and targeted. But more importantly, America's economic and entitlement problems do have a solution: Immigration Reform, for a larger, more productive workforce.

INSPIRA is a web series hosted by Emanuel Pleitez and Gabriela Fresquez who are on a search to discover inspiring Latino leaders who are shaping their communities and influencing the economy across America. INSPIRA is important in today’s time to spotlight role models that can help inspire young Latinos to follow their passion and create a positive impact in their society. From the arts to politics, big business to non-profits, our viewers will be able to follow Emanuel and Gabriela as they immerse themselves into each leader’s life, learn more about what they do, and hear about the people and experiences that inspire them to be the person they are today.

Gabriela Fresquez (left) hopes to inspire young Latino/as who are feeling isolated, unmotivated or without direction. “We need to be reminded that our goals are attainable,” she said.

Delmont: Entrepreneurs and inventors create jobs — it’s that simple. Our immigration laws should be that simple, too. The economic history of this country is intertwined with (if not built on) the perseverance, audacity and ingenuity of immigrants.

After four years mired in a recession, we should recognize and embrace this truth — but, instead, we choose to reject it. Immigration policies remain stringent, even though this is the time when we need innovation and entrepreneurship most.Quite simply, our immigration policies prevent risk-taking foreign entrepreneurs from coming here and building businesses that will put Americans back to work and get our economy going again. No visa exists explicitly for the purpose of letting a person come to America to start a business

America Ferrera just launched her campaign, and I signed up to stand with her and Voto Latino.“'America4America' is a campaign to empower every single American voter, with a truth about their own goal in our democracy. That's a role that is a right, that is invaluable, and it is a right that I'm fighting to protect and to promote, and to make absolutely clear that it belongs to each and every one of us.”

MOBILE, Alabama - Alabama's governor signed into law revisions to the state's controversial immigration statute on Friday, despite his earlier suggestions he might veto the measure because it did not make enough changes to the toughest state crackdown against illegal immigrants.

Republican Governor Robert Bentley had publicly urged lawmakers to modify sections of the law that took effect last year and which sparked lawsuits by the Obama administration and immigrant rights groups that argued it is unconstitutional.

But legislators made only minor changes to the law, which has also been criticized by businesses and farmers in the Southern state, who say it has led to widespread departures of Hispanic workers and created a labor shortage.

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The revised law also maintains a section from the original law that requires school systems to account for the immigration status of students unable to provide valid proof of residency.

Olivia Turner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said the governor should have pushed harder for changes to controversial parts of the law.

"Governor Bentley had the opportunity to send a message to lawmakers that the racial profiling, discrimination and fear these laws spark must be stopped," she said. "Sadly, he declined. We are hopeful the courts will soon overturn these shameful measures once and for all." [MORE]

Although one of Mitt Romney’s selling points seems to be his inevitability for the Republican Party, he still has some very serious problems courting certain demographics of voters. Two which stand out are independents who are distrustful of corporations and wealth, and Latinos.

Mitt Romney has claimed to be all about job creation, but a closer look at his “vulture capitalism” days reveal him to be closer to his Wall Street buddies than we would like our government to be. When Romney was working at Bain Capitol, he was just like every other corporate guy: trying to make a buck, wherever it took him. It should come to us as no surprise when he hacked up companies and sold them off, “downsizing” employees, knowing that the bits would die a death similar to the worthless default swaps which destroyed the economy recently. This was all very, very profitable, and makes the sort of money in a single day that most of us will toil our entire lives and never earn. [MORE]

One prominent sociologist in the US has counted "net zero" migration for the first time since the 1960s.

Experts say the implications for both nations are enormous – from the draining of a labor pool in the US to the need for a radical shift in policies in Mexico, which has long depended on the billions of dollars in migrant remittances as a social welfare cornerstone.

Immigration courts to close while ICE reviews deportation casesThe Seattle TimesThe Obama administration has suspended immigration-court dockets in Seattle and three other cities while government attorneys review thousands of deportation cases,...

A Message to Latino and immigrant communities and all those who support them -- from Annabel Park & Eric Byler, co-directors of 9500 Liberty & co-founders of Coffee Party USA. Filmed in Sedona, Arizona.

How are you planning to disrupt the TV space?If you launch a network like everyone else has a network that doesn't make sense. You need to get content that no one else is providing. We can, because 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanic Americans is the biggest and fastest minority group in the country. It's like "Desperado TV." You don't watch Desperado or Machete because they're Latin, you watch them because they're cool movies to check out. El Rey will be made up of shows by people from all over the country who wouldn't typically get into Hollywood. Hollywood wants to own everything. I don't want to own anything. I don't want people just to make content, I want to empower and teach them to create content they own that they can exploit in any medium.

How big of a role with social media play in your next generation network?Social media is a must for El Rey [Network]. The median age of U.S. citizens is about 37 years old, while U.S.-based Hispanics, as a whole, are much younger. Plus, they're over indexed in social media, and they spend a trillion dollars a year. And even though there are 500 networks, not one of them is talking to them. A TV network sounds so traditional, but what it really starts as is a lifestyle brand. You're talking about a youth that's very dissatisfied and not only is social media a place that reflects the identity of a culture, it shapes it.

What advice would you offer entrepreneurs?Don't look at all at what other people are doing. Think of what you're doing as completely fresh because if you imitate you're dead. It's about creating an idea that doesn't exist now. [MORE]

A record number of Latino lawmakers will be sworn into Congress on Thursday.

The 113th Congress will have three Hispanic senators and 33 Latino representatives, according to the House of Representative's online election results. Eleven lawmakers, including one senator, will be there for the first time.

While most, 28, are Democratic, 10 are Republican. And a handful are among the most conservative members of Congress. While most Latinos cast Democratic ballots, two of the three Latino senators, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, are Republican, and all gained widespread support outside the Latino community. Cruz, who has garnered the support of the Tea Party, a subsection of the GOP that some Republicans have derided as too far removed from the mainstream, will join the Senate, along with returning Democrat Bob Menendez and Rubio. Raúl Labrador is a conservative Mormon representative from Idaho. [MORE]

The 2012 election is just a few weeks away. As the polls tighten, it's becoming increasingly clear that this election might be decided by just a handful of voters! One of the states in which we have been focusing our efforts is in the swing state of Nevada. Latinos make up 17% of the voting population in the state! Our community will have a powerful and deciding voice.

Alberto Laborin Villa got to Mexico with what he had on: a pair of slacks and a gray dress shirt. His pockets were empty: no money and no identification. He had no phone numbers either because his phone was back home in Pasco, Washington. Alberto was in Nogales, Sonora, now, and home was about as far away as a place could be for Alberto that night, his first after being deported....

A campaign that brought together low-income workers and undocumented workers stopped an anti-immigrant bill in its tracks.

by DAVID BACON, The Nation

In early April, an anti-immigrant bill like those that swept through legislatures in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina was stopped cold in Mississippi. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Tea Party Republicans were confident they’d roll over any opposition. They’d brought Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State who co-authored Arizona’s SB 1070, into Jackson, to push for the Mississippi bill. The American Legislative Exchange Council, which designs and introduces similar bills into legislatures across the country, had its agents on the scene.

A Message to Latino and immigrant communities and all those who support them -- from Annabel Park & Eric Byler, co-directors of 9500 Liberty & co-founders of Coffee Party USA. Filmed in Sedona, Arizona.

In the current environment of politics, riding on the wake of the “Yo Decido” cover of TIME Magazine, both parties are noticeably vying to score points with Latino voters. The Republican party has been relying upon Florida Senator Marco Rubio to provide it Latino representation. With awareness of Mitt Romney’s harsh positions on immigration, especially on the DREAM Act, the party is increasingly looking to Rubio for support. An example of this support was apparent when Romney cited him as a Latino friend during his debate in Arizona to counteract the charge that he’s anti-Latino. Nevertheless, the GOP is paying the price for the Tea Party’s attack on immigrant communities and promotion of anti-immigrant policies.

Ruben Navarrette says plan for a new version of DREAM Act that gets illegal immigrant kids right with the law but denies citizenship is a commonsense way to break a stalemate, take step in the right direction.

Jefferson County (3681MF), Alabama, will miss a $15 million general-obligation bond payment due April 2, Commissioner David Carrington said in Birmingham.

Jefferson County (3681MF) (3681MF), Alabama, will miss a $15 million general-obligation bond payment due April 2, Commissioner David Carrington said in Birmingham.

Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy in November after county, state officials, a court-appointed receiver and bondholders failed to implement a deal that would have reduced $3 billion in debt tied to the failed financing of a sewer renovation by about $1 billion. The county also has about $200 million of general-obligation bond debt and $814 million of school-construction bonds.

The decision to stop paying was difficult, said Kenneth Klee, the county’s bankruptcy attorney: “These general- obligation bonds are held by ordinary citizens who rely on the income.”

The financial crisis in the county, the state’s most populous, was caused by years of corruption and bond deals gone bad. Jefferson has laid off workers, closed courthouses and has been unable even to pick up roadkill on a timely basis.

Undocumented young people plan to hold rallies on Monday and Tuesday to "unwelcome" Mitt Romney to several California cities that will be hosting Romney fundraisers. They're focusing on his opposition to the Dream Act, hoping to push him to support the bill in order to win over Latino voters.

The protests are part of a larger effort targeting Republicans by "Dreamers," young supporters of the bill, which would allow some undocumented teens and 20-somethings to become legal residents if they attended college or joined the military and maintained a clean criminal record. The bill failed in the Senate in 2010, but Democrats plan to continue pushing it.

Romney has said repeatedly that he would veto the bill if it came to his desk as president, and he has been endorsed by former California Gov. Pete Wilson, an immigration hardliner.

Opposition to the bill, which many Republicans consider "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants, could be a problem for GOP candidates trying to woo Latino voters, who by and large support the bill. Latino voters are planning to join the undocumented youth at the rallies, according to a press release from DRM Capitol Group, which lobbies for the Dream Act.

The rallies are meant "to send a message that undocumented youth do have a voice in this electoral year -- the Latino vote," the group said in a statement.

Protests will take place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Irving and San Diego.

What is the No. 1 issue for Latino voters in the 2012 election? According to actress and Obama reelection co-chair Eva Longoria, it's not immigration but the economy. However, Longoria told CNN's Soledad O'Brien, despite Mitt Romney's claim that his primarmy win in Puerto Rico is a sign that Latinos will help elect him president, the Republican frontrunner is "on the wrong side of every issue that is important to Latinos." [MORE]

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